Monthly Archives: October 2012

What is one thing, just one thing, you did that was pretty awful in Azeroth, that you wish you could get some kind of redemption or forgiveness for, or even just get off your chest?

I should preface this post with a picture of this bear.

Lets get the first one out of the way, It has been far too long since I did one of these Shared Topics, it was just that there was so much stuff to talk about the first month of the expansion.

As a raider, I have committed a bad stuff in my day. There was one run way back in the Ice Crown Citadel days, where I talked to King Varian Wrynn in the lobby at the beginning of the raid and I accidentally removed the Strength of Wrynn buff from the raid, leaving us to finish the raid without the 30% buff to our heath, healing, and damage. It was amazing that I was able to stay in the raid.

Also whenever I gem my armor, I chose to buy the lesser gems instead of the epic gems. This was most dominant in the last raiding tier, unless I actually won the Queen’s Garnet from the RNG lotto that was the Crystalline Geode and Elementium-Coated Geode I would always buy the blue intellect gems, I could not justify paying more gold for the 10 extra points in intellect.

Although it was not because I had a lack of funds to afford those jewels, I just did not want to buy them and looking back on the recount charts, I don’t think many people noticed that I was using sub-par gems .

Those were my two biggest confessions because I did not wronged one person, but nine others people in the raid all trying to push the edge of raiding content. Hopefully I can repent for my mistakes in this expansion.

Be MOP focuses on the Mists of Pandaria expansion of World of Warcraft with my own reflections about the current news and developments that happens throughout the game’s life cycle. Updates Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays

One of the best things about having a blog that spent months talking about Mists of Pandaria before it was released, is that now I get to revisit those topics and talk about it from the other sides.

Today I get to revisit a topic of fishing and cooking dailies that I wrote in late May (Be MOP #71). Back then I wrote about how I did not like how the newest fishing and cooking quest giver was in the city and the rewards were not fit for the max level characters who were battling against the forces of Deathwing and his forces.

I just got back from killing ogres the Bastion of Twilight but I will gladly swim around the canals for crabs

After a month of playing the expansion, how does the new secondary profession skills quests fair in the new expansion?

I like the new dailies in Mists of Pandaria, while there is not one fishing and cooking quest giver, instead the fishing and cooking has been spread out to act more of a faction grind. Those quests gave me two things that Catherine Leland and Robby Flay could not give me, importance and materials.

The Tiller quests gives me a quests to go out to the mountains and start killing Hozen to weed out the numbers and stealing back some stolen cooking tools, while the Anglers have you going out and grab some fish. These objectives may not seem that important to a champion of the Mantid and Sha, but at least it out us moving out of the city and fighting monsters that are our level.

So many farmed goats

These quests also gives you cooking and fishing materials as well. The other major complaint that I had with the Cataclysm Dailies, is that the catch I would get when fishing were in the low-level waters and thus low-level fish were caught, it didn’t really help me when I needed fish from the new zones for the recipes.

In Mists not only is there the tiller’s farm that helps you gather cooking vegetables for the new cooking skill grind, but the Anglers have quests that will send you out to actually fish with dailies like Piranha! and Shocking!

While I don’t mind fishing, I will not go out of my way to fish up anything for the cooking materials, I will always go the AH for that because I know there are people who actually go out and do that.

A good way around that is for the game developers to give me a quest, and in-game objective to get me to exercise the skill, give me the opportunity to level up and help me get some fish that I might use in raids, rep grinds, or reselling at the auction house.

Which they succeed in this expansion and I applaud them for these new dailies .

Be MOP focuses on the Mists of Pandaria expansion of World of Warcraft with my own reflections about the current news and developments that happens throughout the game’s life cycle. Updates Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays

Oh boy, Oh Boy OH BOY! I may be a bit late to the party but I just got around to reading the 5.1 PTR Patch notes, and while I will save my thoughts on patch 5.1’s content once I am able to get my hands on it in the live servers, I do want to take some time to talk about an addition to the patch notes that caught my eye.

Blizzard has announced that they are adding another mount collecting achievement!

Previously I talked about one of the wish list in Mists of Pandaria was an extension of the Mountain of Mounts achievement, since we saw a new pet collecting achievement in Cataclysm and now my wish has been answered!

Now I have a new goal of a hundred and fifty, and with that comes the itch for collecting mounts that I have not felt since Wrath of the Lich King. Now lets open up my mount journal to see what my mount number is.

Still no Headless Horseman mount

I have 132 mounts in my stable, with only 18 other mounts on my hunting list.

With only collecting two mounts so far in this expansion (Imperial Quilen Mount and the Ruby Panther mount) I am hoping that I can get the remaining mounts from this current expansion and the few that I missed in Cataclysm without going back to the blasted Argent Tournament Grounds Dailies.

Be MOP focuses on the Mists of Pandaria expansion of World of Warcraft with my own reflections about the current news and developments that happens throughout the game’s life cycle. Updates Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays

I have two professions that I have kept on my mage ever since I started playing the game, Skinning and Tailoring.

While it may seem odd but I use skinning throughout the entire expansion to make a profit on the auction house, skinning is like my wing man helping me get gold and even giving me a nice critical chance boost in fights.

A fire mage’s best friend

For the tailoring profession, I have a bit of a different relationship. If skinning is my best friend that helps me throughout all of my life, Tailoring is my wife. With marriage it goes through some certain stages.

Tailoring and I first experience the Honeymoon phase, this happens at the beginning of the expansion with the added another level in all profession, I get to experience the journey of leveling to the max tailoring all over again.

I would go out of my way to grind certain reputations to get those really nice epic tailoring recipes.

And each day I would to go to the Valley of the Four Winds for our daily date in the Silk Fields.

We will always have that

Then we get to the next raiding tier, and then the relation reaches it’s next phase, it’s not all lovey-dovey. The relationship starts to level out, becomes more routine.

I still give her Windwool cloth for the Imperial Silk cooldown, but the mystery of what’s the next thing to craft is gone.

It becomes increasingly difficult to get the most current recipes, going into the raids to kill a boss for the small chance to get a recipe and then fighting with the other tailors in the raid to win the loot.

Be MOP focuses on the Mists of Pandaria expansion of World of Warcraft with my own reflections about the current news and developments that happens throughout the game’s life cycle. Updates Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays

Last week started my favorite holiday in World of Warcraft, the Hallow’s End holiday!

“Prepare yourselves, the bells have tolled! Shelter your weak, your young and your old! Each of you shall pay the final sum! CRY for mercy! THE RECKONING HAS COME!

The event holds a special place in my heart, it was the first world event that I properly experienced.

The first actual holiday was Brewfest but a the time, the computer I was playing it on was so terrible that it could not handle all the players in the one location outside of the city and I was too new to the game to understand what was happening.

When Hallow’s End event came around I was a bit more experienced in how WoW worked and I was able to utilized the game mechanics of tick or treating and the extinguishing of the town flames.

Every Hallow ends after that I made sure that I participated in Hallow’s End every way that I can, I visit every tick or treat pumpkin in every town , making sure that I got all of the achievements, and use the magic broom as my flying mount for the glorious two weeks.

I even partake in the cherish tradition of eating too much candy

It was the Headless horseman that was the first PvE boss I encountered at level 70.

I dinged 70 during the Hallow End event, I was able to buy 4 out of the 5 of the Epic PvP set (I played A LOT of Battlegrounds from 10-70) and I bought them for the sole purpose of being prepared for the fight.

I always make sure that I have the sound up so that I can listen to his wonderful rhythms in the dungeon AND when he attacks the towns

For everyone who were spoiled by Celestiral Steeds and the Big Love Rockets this was the first mount that could be used as BOTH a land mount and a flying mount.

This was during a time when flying mounts could only be used in areas that permitted in flying zones. This was an amazing mount and I set my eyes on it, and for the last four years I queued up for the Headless Horseman instance for every day for the off-chance to get that mount.

This is one of the few mounts that I want but don’t have, I don’t want much mounts…every since I collected most of them but I have a good feeling about finally getting the mount this year.

Be MOP focuses on the Mists of Pandaria expansion of World of Warcraft with my own reflections about the current news and developments that happens throughout the game’s life cycle. Updates Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays

Last Wednesday night I finally reached level 90 on my mage. After four weeks of having the expansion being released I was able to level past the newest five levels.

hmmm…. writing it out makes it sound slightly less epic.

Finally I have the quests in The Shrine of Seven Stars!

I honestly thought that the city held no quests/adventures when I was there at level 89.

Finally I can open up the Tillers and Order of the Cloud Serpent reputations and set my sights on having getting the biggest farm in Pandaria and get my cloud serpent mount and all the other rewards from the reputation grinds.

Finally I will be able to partake in heroics and raids!

Oh wait….

And lastly, finally I am able to fly around Pandaria! Currently I am exploring the continent completing the Lore walker scroll Easter egg hunt AND fly around and complete the exploration achievement, because heaven knows I need more achievement points.

It’s not that I want to be the best, it’s making sure that nobody overthrows me

Be MOP focuses on the Mists of Pandaria expansion of World of Warcraft with my own reflections about the current news and developments that happens throughout the game’s life cycle. Updates Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays

The Rules of Me: What are your personal rules you wish others would know about you?

I have always been a big follower of the rules, and throughout my adventures I have five major rules that I have developed in my adventures in Azeroth over the years.

I’ve waiting to use a Fairly Oddparents picture for quite a while now

I will not gank

This rule comes from my early years on a PvP server, I will not attack a member of the Horde if they are in he middle of a fight of a NPC. If both of us are at full health and rested then it’s free game and if you are attacking another player of the Alliance then oh boy, the Time Lord’s Gloves are off!

I will only skin animals that you killed only when it is clear you moved on.

This comes from my greed from the skinning profession and it stems from all the skinners stealing my monsters while I was busy with another beast. Once I know you looted the body and have no more interest in the corpse then I will steal the leather.

I will be nice to you if you are nice to me

The classic Golden Rule this comes from the constant requests of Conjured Mana Cakes and portals, if you are nice in your request then there is a good chance that I will follow through.

But if you are rude to me in demanding a portal then I hold the right to create a portal to every city besides the one that you want.

I will never buy weapons or gear on the Auction House

This is a from the knowledge that if I am patience enough in my raid group then the epic armor will be mine. It’s kind of like Field of Dreams

If you attend it, the epic loot will

I value the journey over the destination

This one I follow when I go into a new zone, getting through all of the quests before getting completing the main story arc of the area and traveling to the next zone. I also use this rule to answer to all of my friends when they ask me why I am not level ninety yet.

Be MOP focuses on the Mists of Pandaria expansion of World of Warcraft with my own reflections about the current news and developments that happens throughout the game’s life cycle. Updates Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays